The Kansas City Chiefs‘ offense has a couple of significant problems, though the biggest right now is probably the absence of left tackle Josh Simmons and the domino effect it has had on the offensive line.
Simmons missed half of last season, in part because of personal issues and partially due to injury concerns. A bulging disc in his lower back has kept the 2025 first-round pick sidelined for all six of the team’s contests to this point in 2026, and Simmons won’t be back until at least Week 11.
And injuries aren’t Simmons’ only issues. He was involved in an altercation with head coach Andy Reid and quarterback Patrick Mahomes due to his behavior during an offensive meeting, which Mahomes and Reid asked Simmons to leave.
Given all of the concerns around the $15 million offensive tackle, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network and ESPN suggested earlier this week that Simmons may not be long for Kansas City.
“There are a lot of questions about Josh Simmons, who is as talented a left tackle as you could possibly get,” Rapoport said. “I don’t know if he plays for the Chiefs again. I don’t know when he plays for the Chiefs again. There’s nothing more important than protecting Patrick Mahomes. You have to believe in the person doing it, and until that happens, I don’t know that he’s out there.”
Mahomes spoke directly to whether he believes Simmons will protect his blindside again in the future, and his answer should provide some reassurances to Chiefs fans who want to see things work out with the uber-talented NFL sophomore.
Patrick Mahomes Offered Reassurances on Josh Simmons’ Future in Kansas City
Mahomes offered a strong vote of confidence in Simmons’ future with the team on Wednesday.
“I’m extremely confident because I’ve seen the work he puts in. He’s doing his rehab, he’s doing his work, he’s doing everything he can to be back on that field,” Mahomes told 96.5 The Fan.
“He’ll have a couple weeks here now while he’s on IR where he can get himself back to the physical shape that he can be in,” Mahomes continued. “He’ll be mentally confident to go out there and be the best version of himself. When he’s able to do that, he’ll be back on the football field. It’s about getting him right physically and mentally.”
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Mahomes also spoke to his confrontation with Simmons during the meeting and put to bed the notion that it will be a problem moving forward.
“Stuff like that doesn’t really bother me because I’m so in the moment,” Mahomes explained. “When you’re in this building, you don’t even really hear stuff like that. We’ve had the right conversations, now we’re moving in the right direction. You have to have hard conversations at some point. I think we’ve had those.”
In the meantime, Kansas City has to figure out how it will manage in pass protection without Simmons. Undrafted rookie Khalil Benson has stepped into the starting LT role since Week 1, and while he has been a successful run blocker, he has struggled to protect Mahomes sufficiently on pass downs.
The same issues are popping up at right tackle, as injuries have taken a big bite out of the Kansas City front. One potential option is to sign former Detroit Lions starting left tackle Taylor Decker, who the Lions released during the offseason and who has yet to sign with a team.
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